A decade of diary writing

Happy new year everyone! 🙂

I start with my 10th year of diary writing this year. Needless to say, I’m happy and proud that I’ve stuck to this habit, quite meticulously, over the past decade. I’d like to share my thoughts on diary writing and my “journey” so far. 

I started writing back in 2009, with the goal of recording the events, people and places in my life, and as a tribute to my father, and my grandfather before him, both of whom had written it for many years. In a way, it was always “in the family” and I wanted to continue this tradition. 

I also hoped it would help improve my handwriting. Not all goals are achievable, I’ve learnt 🙂 

Over the years, I’ve succeeded and failed at school and work, laughed and cried, with friends and alone, travelled and experienced a variety of cultures, read many books, played many sports and met and interacted with many people. Through all this, my little companion(s) have been with me, enabling me to register the memories of the day.

People often ask me what I write about. “Isn’t writing a diary everyday boring?” or “Don’t you do the same thing for most of the days?” are some other variants of that question.

At the risk of sounding cliched, my answer is that no two days are the same. More importantly, I’ve evolved my writing from my early days to reflect how the experiences of the day influenced me, and my thoughts on them. Even a little interaction with someone on the street or a discussion on a whatsapp group, can go a long way in shaping your state of mind. But no matter how good or bad the day has been, transferring the weight of the day onto a page, has a soothing effect, and gives a mini sense of closure that the day is over and tomorrow is going to start with a clean slate. 

Do I ever read my old diary entries? Very rarely, but on the few occasions that I have, it has always been a nostalgic experience. I laugh at how something which seems so trivial now, was my most pressing concern back in the day. It provides me a perspective on how things won’t always remain the same forever. 

I also pat myself on my back sometimes, when I realize I’ve retained my core values even after a myriad of experiences.

My diary is my own pensieve (of HP fame). It knows exactly who I am, with all my virtues and my faults, and is a copy of my conscience. I hope to continue this habit forever, and would suggest anyone reading this to try it out as well. Who knows, it might come in handy when you want to write your autobiography one day 😉

Happy writing! 😁